You aren't sure just how long you've been kissing him now. His lips are sweet and have only a faint trace of beer on them, and his weight in your lap just feels strangely right. You rub at his back until you realize that he's still wearing your heavy fucking jacket, so you move your hands to help him pull it off.

But he breaks away and looks scared of what you're about to do. "Cronus?" His voice is breathy and lower than it had been earlier.

"Yeah, babe?" You tilt your head, eyes scanning for whatever it was that was bothering him.

"Why are you taking off my, er, your jacket?"

You chuckle and put a hand on his face. "Because it's way too hot in here to be wearing it." Your thumb traces against his cheek. "That and I figured since you were staying..."

He pulls away from you and gets off your lap. "This... This is a bad idea." He's pacing now and you watch him as he lectures himself under his breath. It would be cute if it weren't so sad.

"Babe, there ain't nothing wrong with that we were doing. We were kissing. It's nothing."

He whips around and you can see the look of righteous fury in his previously placid features. "Nothing? Nothing?" He moves closer to you and suddenly you can't help but to feel a little intimidated. "A kiss is far from nothing!" He leans in and suddenly you're pressed against the counter. If he were any bigger of a man, you would be petrified. "A kiss is intimate and deep. It connects two people." His hands are on your face, brushing down to your neck. "It's sweet and not something to just call nothing."

You swallow and nod. What else can you do? "You're right. It's intimate. Very intimate." You bring a hand to his face, cupping it softly. "But it's only something if you make it something."

He sighs. "It was something for me."

You smile and lean forward just a little. "Then what's the problem?"

He lets out a shuddering breath, cheeks flushing. "I... I'm not sure if I want more than just kissing."

"That's fine. Let's just get some sleep."

He leans in more and his lips are against yours. "Okay." The way his lips move against yours makes you feel like you're floating. He's so unsure but so soft and sweet. It's like you've been waiting your entire life for these kisses from him and for some reason it just makes you want to scream. Why did it take so long?

And why is he so fucking young?

But you push all of this to the back of your head and just keep kissing him. Again you're not sure how long the two of you are moving lips on lips, but he pulls away again and is scanning your face. "Can we just... Can we get some sleep?"

You nod. "Sounds like a plan to me, babe." You stand up and offer him your hand. He takes it and you smile widely at him as you lead him to your, admittedly not very tidy, room. He lets go of your hand and pulls off the heavy leather jacket, hanging it on your desk chair, before sitting on your bed.

The nervousness on his face is more than apparent and you sit down next to him. "Do you need anything to wear for bed?" You try to put him at ease. At least you didn't start stripping down, right?

He fidgets and you just put a hand on his shoulder, which seems to calm him down. "Pajamas of some sort would be most appreciated."

You nod and stand up, digging through your dresser. After a few minutes you walk back to him. "Here. I don't really wear pajamas, but I got some basketball shorts and an old t-shirt that should work."

He smiles and nods. "Is your bathroom through there?" He points at your closet and you just smile.

"Well that's a closet, but you should fit inside it. Go ahead." You sit back down as he moves over to your closet to change. You lay on your back and sing a little to yourself while you wait. You're honestly surprised at just how long it takes him, but the door opening again tells you that he's finally out of the closet.

You snort a little. Out of the closet.

While you laugh to yourself, he sits next to you on the bed and lays down with a look of trepidation in his green eyes. You put a hand to his face again. "Babe. There's no reason to be so fuckin' freaked out. If you just wanna sleep then we're just gonna sleep, all right?"

He gives you a slow nod and just keeps his head against your hand. "I think I'm ready to sleep..."

You yawn and sit up. With a stretch, you get off the bed and turn out the light. As you strip out of your clothes, you wonder if you should let him know that you tend to really not wear anything when you sleep, but instead you decide that you've got some sexy purple boxer briefs on. May as well keep those on, right?

You back back down and pull your covers over both of you. There's a moment where you think that maybe you shouldn't pull him close while you sleep, but you throw caution to the wind and hold him lightly. He lets out a tiny squeak and you just press a soft kiss to the top of his head. "Night, babe." You murmur to him and feel him move a little closer.

"Goodnight, Dualscar."

That keeps you up for quite some time. Had he really called you Dualscar? It's your DJ name, but still... The fact that he would use that for anything not radio-related makes you feel like the sanctity of the name has been violated somehow. Like there's a stowaway on your pirate ship. But at the same time you feel like he's a world that's all your own. No one but he and Dave know that you're Dualscar. Well, no one that matters anyway.

And, as much as you'd love to take the attention for being him, you'd rather keep him separate from Cronus Ampora. Keep him smooth and graceful where you're...

You sigh and shake your head a little. You're thinking too much is what you're doing. So you close your eyes and do your best to fall asleep with your nose buried in Kankri's hair.

When you wake, he's still pulled close to you and that brings a smile to your face. You kiss the top of his head again and just watch him for a little. "Morning, babe."

You see a little smile of his own and a bright red flush spread across his cheeks. "Good morning." He pulls closer to you, almost like he doesn't want to let go. And as he whispers you realize why. "This isn't a dream is it?"

You swallow and just grip him a little more tightly. "No. This isn't a dream."

"That's exactly what someone would say in a dream."

You roll your eyes and put your hand under his chin to bring his face up. "It's not." You lean down and press a soft kiss to his lips. "That enough proof?"

He hums a little, opening his eyes. "I think so."

You laugh softly and just stay close to him. "Then seein' as we're in a not-dream..."

"Use your real voice..." He pouts up at you, moving closer.

You sigh and drop your American accent. "Fine. Now. Seeing as we're in a not-dream, let's get something to eat because I am fucking starved."

He furrows his brow and makes what you can only describe as the most precious miffed face ever. "Cronus. You are far from starved. There are people who actually are starved and your co-opting of the word is—!" You cut him off with a kiss.

"It's way too early in the morning for a lecture. Food is the only thing on my mind." You yawn as you get out of bed and stretch.

He huffs a little at you. "Very well. Food sounds... Reasonable." He gets out of bed after you and follows you as you leave the room, not even bothering to get dressed.

When you get to the kitchen you open the fridge and pull out your orange juice, taking a swig out of the carton before sitting down.

"That is disgusting."

"Huh?" You look at the carton in your hand. "Oh yeah that. It's the problem with being a bachelor for so long. You forget how to live with other people around." You smile at him with a low chuckle. "But I was gonna make up some eggs and bacon. Maybe some hash browns. You eat meat?"

He smiles. "Yes, I do. Thank you for asking before simply assuming that I did."

You take another drink out of the carton and stand up. "Figured I should. Never fucking know who doesn't anymore." You put the carton back in your fridge and pull out all the necessary foods with a quick sniff to each to make sure that they're all good. "Now just sit back and I'll get this cooked up."

You cook your breakfast quickly and listen to him while he talks about vegetarianism. You honestly had no idea just how many different types there were until he started talking, and now you're not sure you really wanted to know every possible scrap of information that he had in his wrinkly little brain. But you serve up his food first, half hoping it would get him to at least slow down, but he's courteous and waits for you to finish cooking.

With a sigh you take your seat and eat quietly, still listening to him speak. He really does have a great voice. And he certainly knows how to use it. But when you've both finished eating, you realize you have a question yet to ask. "So... Do you want me to take you home today?"

He pauses for a few minutes, staring at his plate as you watch the internal debate move across his features. Eventually he shakes his head, though. "No. I want to stay here for now. I want to stay with you."

You swallow and nod. "Sure. I've got a pretty long shift at the station today, though. It all right with you if we go there?"

He nods. "I'd love to see you at work." He smiles at you warmly and something hits you.

You aren't sure what it is, but it feels warm and tingling and something like love without the gut-wrenching pains. With a deep sigh, you realize that this is going to be a long day at work.